Mexican Mafia members arrested in Hondo

Nine from Hondo nabbed on drug, weapons charges.

Authorities took a swing Tuesday at the Texas Mexican Mafia's operations in the outskirts of San Antonio, arresting several of its members on drug or firearm charges.

Nine Hondo-based members and associates of the group were arrested in a joint operation, announced U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy, FBI Special Agent in Charge Cory B. Nelson and Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw.

The San Antonio-based gang originated in Texas prisons but has been weakened with at least four federal prosecutions that squeezed some of its street operations to surrounding communities.

A federal indictment, returned July 20 and unsealed Tuesday, charges all of the defendants, with the exception of Rodriguez, with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by threats and/or violence.

Since Oct. 1, they conspired to extort money from methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana traffickers operating in Hondo, Poteet and Pearsall through the collection of a 10 percent drug tax, also known as “the dime,” the indictment states.

They enforced the collection by robbery, serious bodily injury or other acts of violence, officials said.

The indictment charges Correa and Rodriguez with two counts of distribution of methamphetamine and Sanchez with one count of distribution of heroin.

In a related investigation, authorities said they also arrested a Mexican Mafia associate named Ignacio Aragon Jr., 38, of San Antonio early Tuesday while executing a search warrant at his residence. Investigators found a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol inside the residence.

A federal criminal complaint, filed Tuesday, charges Aragon with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

This investigation was conducted by the FBI, the DPS with assistance from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service, San Antonio Police, Bexar County Sheriff's Office and the Bexar County District Attorney's Office.